Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 3:00 pm on 28 February 2023.
I would like to talk a little bit in more detail about how the strategy will mitigate the impact of the withdrawal of UK structural funds on Welsh universities specifically. You just mentioned the warning that we've had from Swansea University that up to 240 researchers are facing redundancy in that institution alone. I'm sure you'd agree that redundancies on this scale—and many of them are early-years researchers—would fatally undermine confidence in the research sector in South Wales West and across Wales. Here are the words of one of the researchers who has already been made redundant from one of the programmes. He said, 'I could see so much being achieved each week. Beyond the measurable outcomes, the project was a conduit for connectivity and the development of translational expertise', something you've referred to today as being so key to this strategy and is so important, of course, in the development of the research and technology sector in a small country. So, I'd like to know, Minister, are you developing any medium- and long-term solutions as a part of this strategy, and will you explore short-term bridging measures in the meantime that could perhaps include a match-funded package to stabilise employment and underpin R&D in our universities to stem this loss of intellectual capital?